Fire escape



Feb. 12, 1952 I R THQENNES 2,585,876 A FIRE ESCAPE Filed Sept. 18, 1947 Flag. Invenfar F rank -A. Thoennes WW 1 2M Patented Feb. 12, 195 2 U NI T E D S TATES PATE'N G F F 1 CE FIRE ESCAPE -l7rank:A. Thoennes Peru, Ind.

Applieationseptember' 18, 1947, Serial No. 774,779

3 Glaims. '(Cl. 254-154) Thisdnvention:relates to new and useful improvementsdnfire escapea and the primary object of 'the: present invention is to provide a port able fire escape which'is quickly' and readily applied to a supportingstructure; such as azbuilding or :the like, so tthat a person may quickly and safelyxlower'himself fromithe building to the ground.

.sAnother iimportant object of :the present in- Vcntion:is*to :provide a;.fire escape including a pair-::of:rol1ers andiasafety cable so interlaced or isnubbed with the': rollers .as to cause an even unwinding zoflthe cablewhen. a person is. lowered thereby.

furtheriobject of ithe .presentinvention is to iprovidera fire s'escape, all parts-20f which are quickly and readily s'disassembled .tfacilitating convenient packing of the same into a relatively smalleareaccontainer.

A still further aim of the present invention is to provide a fire escape that issimple and practical in construction, strong and eilicient in use, relatively inexpensive to manufacture, and otherwise well adapted for the purposes for which thersameiisqintended.

Other objects and advantages reside in-thedetails of construction and operation as morefu-lly hereinafterdescribed and claimed,-- reference being had to the accompanyingdrawingsrforming part hereof, --wherein like numerals refer to like 1 parts throughout, and in which:

:Figure l is an elevationalyiewof the present fire escape, and with parts of the safety line broken away and shown in section;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal vertical sectional View taken substantially on the plane of section line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a transverse horizontal sectional view taken substantially on the plane of section line 33 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the cable drum rewinding handle; and

Figure 5 is an elevational view of the cable drum rewinding means in slightly modified form.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, wherein for the purpose of illustration, there is disclosed a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the numeral it represents a closed substantially O-shaped frame of suitable metallic construction provided with apertures l2 and I4 at each end that respectively engage a resilient guide sleeve l6 and the reduced bevelled portion l8 of a retaining plate 2H. Rigidly secured to portion I8 is the shank portion 22 of a hook member 24.

e the lower roller, .inclined upwardly,

2 iExtending transverselycbetween 'the frame- H], is;-a removable Band izrotatable shaft L01 bolt-'26 provided with:zan";adjustable, jam :nut 28 and a castle: nut 12-9 :at .onecend that retains the ;:shaft zfirintpositionto the frame. ,Aremovable finger receiving .knob 39 having, an undulatedcircumferential-edge tz :and arectangular aperture 32' is -removably secured to "the reduced substantially rectangular-.-end 3-3 of the rshaftderfor manual rotation of the shaft.

-Rigi'dly secured'by weldingor the liketo the inner periphery: of the frame If! and loosely embracing theshaft :25,isa;.pair--of spaced parallel wear, plates :34 that .frictionally bear-againstv the outer ,:faces of r fla-nges e36 :ofla -cable drum- 38 meunted -on shaft-26.

rPivota'llymounted on; rivets tor (the. like 4.0- carried by the frame lfiyis an'upper roller 42 and a.-lower roller 44.

Extending downwardly through the sleeve I 6 isaa safetyrcable ifi having a spring. lockingcatch 43 rigidly secured to one end. The oppositeend of the cable "46 extends against the outer periphery of the -rollers lll and Mpis looped around looped around the upper vroller, extends about the cabIedrum (SB and thenengages-a transverse recess 2-56 provided in both the cableudrumvand shaft 25.

-By rotating the knob 3Ei, the cable :maybe spirally Wound upon the .cable drum.

Figured shows .the rewinding means tfor the cable drum in slightly modified form. In this embodiment, the numeral 52 represents a fiat substantially rectangular plate provided with a substantially semi-hexagonal opening 54 at one terminal that is engageable with the nut 28 and with a rectangular aperture 56 that is engageable with the reduced substantially rectangular end 33 of the shaft 26 for rotating the shaft. A hand grip 60 is rigidly mounted on the plate 52 facilitating the convenient rotation of same.

In practical use of the device, the catch 48 is secured to a suitable supporting structure of a building or the like, and an adjustable waist belt 62 carried by the hook member is applied about a users waist. When the user steps out of a window or the like, the snubbing action of the cable with the rollers 42 and 44 will tend to cause an even uniform unwinding of the cable upon the cable drum.

It should be noted, that the weight of the user will cause a tension to be present in the cable, so that at the numerals 64 and 66, indicated on the rollers 42 and 44, there will be the frictional pressure of the cable upon the periphery of the roller to add to the even unwinding of the cable.

In view of the foregoing description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings it is believed that a. clear understanding of the construction, operation and advantages of the device will be quite apparent to those skilled in this art. A more detailed description is accordingly deemed unnecessary.

It is to be understood, however, that even though there is herein shown and described a preferred embodiment of the invention the same is susceptible to certain changes fully comprehended by the spirit of the invention as herein described and the scope of the appended claims.

Having described the invention what is claimed as new is:

1. A fire escape comprising an elongated oblong frame including a pair of spaced parallel vertical side walls and upper and lower curved end walls joining the side walls, upper and lower horizontal rivets terminally attached to said side walls, upper and lower rollers on said rivets, said rollers being disposed between said side walls, a horizontal shaft underlying said rollers and extending through said side walls, a cable drum mounted on said shaft for rotation therewith, said upper end wall having a vertical aperture therein, a resilient guide sleeve mounted in said aperture, said drum and said shaft having transverse registering openings therein, a cable extending downwardly through the guide sleeve past both rollers, said cable extending under the lower roller and over the upper roller and being received in said openings, a finger grip attached to one end of said shaft to permit manual rotation of the shaft, and a jam nut threaded on the shaft for engaging one of the side walls.

2. A fire escape comprising an elongated oblong frame including a pair of spaced parallel vertical side walls and upper and lower curved end walls joining the side walls, upper and lower horizontal rivets terminally attached to said side walls, upper and lower rollers on said rivets, said rollers being disposed between said side walls, a head bolt extending horizontally through both side walls and underlying said rollers, a cable drum including a hollow body having end flanges, said body receiving the shaft, wear plates fixed to the inner faces of said side walls in registry with the end flanges of said drum, said body and said bolt having registering transverse openings,

said upper end wall having a vertical aperture, a resilient guide sleeve in said aperture, a cable extending downwardly through said sleeve and being looped about the lower roller and the upper roller and having an end mounted in said openings to hold the cable drum stationary on the bolt, a hand grip secured to one end of said bolt to permit manual rotation of said bolt and said drum, a jam nut threaded on said bolt for engaging one of said side walls, and a ring like member depending from the lower end wall and rotatably supported by the lower end wall and adapted to be engaged by a waist belt.

3. A fire escape comprising an elongated oblong frame including a pair of spaced parallel vertical side walls and upper and lower curved end walls joining the side walls, upper and lower horizontal rivets terminally attached to said side walls, upper and lower rollers on said rivets, said rollers being disposed between said side walls, a head bolt extending horizontally through both side walls and underlying said rollers, a cable drum including a hollow body having end flanges, said body receiving the shaft, Wear plates fixed to the inner faces of said side walls in registry with the end flanges of said drum, said body and said bolt having registering transverse openings, said upper end wall having a vertical aperture, a resilient guide sleeve in said aperture, a cable extending downwardly through said sleeve and beinglooped about the lower roller and the upper roller and having an end mounted in said openings to hold the cable drum stationary on the bolt, a hand grip secured to one end of said bolt to permit manual rotation of said bolt and said drum, and a jam nut threaded on said bolt for engaging one of said side walls.

FRANK A. TI-IOENNES.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 292,981 Brooke Feb. 5, 1884 586,173 Frahm July 13, 1897 612,673 Reidy et a1 Oct. 18, 1898 656,507 Brown Aug. 21, 1900 1,272,944 Green July 16, 1918 1,466,910 Lenzi et a1. Sept. 4, 1923 

